Engaging Men and Families for Improved Women's and Girls' Nutrition: A Study in Rural Chhattisgarh, India

Shivangi Karmakar, ROSHNI Centre for women collectives led social action
Dr Sarita Anand, Lady Irwin College Delhi University and ROSHNI Centre for women collectives led social action

Despite progress in reducing hunger, data from NFHS-5 reveals that 18.7% of women are undernourished and 57% suffer from anaemia, highlighting gender-based nutritional inequality. Women often consume less food and eat after others due to deep-rooted societal norms. Research highlights the importance of addressing gender-specific factors in dietary habits and involving family members, especially men, to create a supportive environment for better nutrition practices. This paper presents one such intervention initiated by the ROSHNI Centre for Women Collectives led social action taken up by Women collectives under the government’s Rural Livelihood Mission and UNICEF. Over the years, using an iterative and participatory approach, the intervention has gained a nuanced and complex understanding of the interlinkages between women's and girls’ nutritional health and the gendered norms of patriarchy. With the help of its evolving knowledge base, it has developed a multi-sectoral strategy to enlist men and families for the nutritional goals of women and girls. Findings show that women’s collectives, with appropriate training and tools, can effectively engage men in discussions on gender norms and nutrition, leading to increased decision-making power for women within households.

Keywords: Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination, Gender Dynamics, Qualitative data/methods/approaches

See extended abstract.